Vegan Carrot Cake

I was always weirded out by the idea of carrot cake until I realized it tasted nothing like carrots and everything like heaven, so when I found a vegan version on Pinterest I had to try it for our family Easter!

This cake was incredible…6 days later and I’m still savoring the last of the leftovers.

This recipe is from gimmesomeoven.com, but she makes her’s gluten-free…I make mine gluten-full.

VEGAN CARROT CAKE

Vegan Carrot Cake Ingredients:

2.5 cups (12.5 ounces) all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

pinch of ground cloves

pinch of ground ginger

1 pound carrots, peeled

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

4 flax eggs (1/4 cup ground flax meal and 1/2 cup warm water)

3/4 cup vegetable oil

optional: 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (I used walnuts)

Vegan “Cream Cheese” Frosting Ingredients:

8 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) vegan butter or margarine

3 Tablespoons non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon juice

pinch of salt

Directions:

Adjust oven rack to the middle position, and preheat to 350 degrees F. Use cooking spray or butter to thoroughly grease the inside of either:

Then dust the inside of each pan with gluten-free flour until the grease is completely covered and no spots of the pan are visible.

Make your flax eggs first and set them aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, cloves and ginger together until combined.

In a food processor fitted with the large shredding disk, shred carrots (I’m sure you could also just use pre-shredded carrots). Then transfer them to the mixing bowl with the flour. Wipe clean the food processor bowl, and fit with the metal blade (in place of the shredding disk). Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar and flax eggs and process until frothy and thoroughly combined, about 20 seconds. With processor running, add oil in a steady stream. Process until egg mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 20 more seconds.

Transfer egg mixture to the large bowl with the carrots and flour. Using a rubber spatula, stir the mixture until thoroughly combined. If using nuts, stir them in until combined.

Pour batter evenly into the prepared pan(s). Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about:

-30-35 minutes for the 9×13-inch baking pan
-25-30 minutes for the two 9-inch round cake pans, or
-18-23 minutes for the three 8-inch round cake pans

To make the frosting, blend together all ingredients except for the powdered sugar. Then, slowly add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Don’t do what the recipe says and add everything all at once because the powdered sugar will go everywhere…trust me. If the frosting is too thick, add some extra milk. If the frosting is too thin, add in more powdered sugar to thicken.

Let cake cool completely in the pan(s) on a wire rack, about 1 hour. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen. Remove cake, if transferring to a different serving platter, and frost as desired.